The FASFC in Belgium has published a new circular on alternative systems for decontaminating tools with exceptionally stringent requirements.
According to Regulation (EC) No 853/2004, slaughterhouses, cutting plants and establishments producing minced meat, meat preparations and mechanically separated meat must have facilities for disinfecting tools with hot water of at least 82 °C or an alternative system with an equivalent effect.
If companies use an alternative decontamination system (e.g. a chemical or a physical method), prior approval by the FASFC is required. And a substantiated dossier must be submitted and assessed by the Scientific Committee of the FASFC.
With the presence of sufficient clean and decontaminated tools (change if necessary), the following requirements must be met as a minimum:
- Soiled tools should be clearly separated from clean tools to avoid cross-contamination and should remain clean until the time of use.
- A corrective or preventive measure should be provided in the HACCP system for when unexpectedly insufficient clean tools are present.
The dossier will be assessed by the Scientific Committee of the FASFC. This will include an exact description of the with all relevant technical data (exposure time, temperature, chemical composition and concentration of products used).
After approval one describes the process in detail and includes it in the HACCP system. Remarkably, a very strict and comprehensive verification method is required with monthly agar checks and defined standards for Total Aerobic Germ Count, Enterobacteriaceae and Salmonella. So this may not be determined by an in-house hazard analysis.
In the Netherlands, alternative disinfection methods may simply be used. The NVWA's working regulation only talks about slaughterhouses and cutting plants.
The guidelines focus on the specific instructions for use of the product. These must be followed exactly according to the description in the Ctgb's authorisation act. The use must also be described in the company's HACCP system according to specific requirements. But the verification measures may fortunately be determined on the basis of a risk analysis.
Source: Circular on the decontamination of utensils by alternative methods of hot water of at least 82°C in slaughterhouses, cutting plants and establishments for the manufacture of minced meat, meat preparations and mechanically separated meat, FASFC - 31/10/2023
